Blessings In Suffering

| Home | Sermons | Articles | Links | Class |

Blessings In Suffering

David McPherson

Suffering is not something most people hope for. There are however blessings that result from it. Notice a few:

1) Suffering keeps this world from becoming too attractive. As "sojourners and pilgrims" (1.Pet. 2:11), Christians seek a better home. If all was pleasant with no pain, heartache, sickness, etc., few would want to leave this earth. But suffering reveals the ugliness of this world. It gets people excited about an eternal home of bliss .

2) Suffering makes us more appreciative. It's no surprise how grateful one is for good health following an illness. Go with an arm in a cast and you'll have a greater appreciation for it when it is healed. Paul understood this. Suffering in bonds gave him extreme gratefulness for those with whom he had labored (see Phil. 1 :3-8).

3) Suffering makes us dependent upon God. Suffering tells the self-sufficient, "you can't do it alone." Suffering reminds us "...in Him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28).



| Back To Articles |